Monday, August 19, 2013

Monday Grab Bag: Come on and slam, and welcome to the jam

Thanks to @Phyltopia, I went out of my way to watch Space Jam this weekend. So, in lieu of an actual intro, I now present the unheralded star of the accompanying soundtrack. The one, the only, "Hit 'em high (The Monstars' Anthem)."

LOL, Busta Rhymes. (Basketball season can't get here soon enough...)

Today in the bag, I'm talking Saturday's scrimmage, football recruiting, and an update on the women's basketball team's trip to Italy

Click below for the bag...

Post-scrimmage notes -
Saturday not only marked Healthy Kids Day at Folsom Field, but also the latest scrimmage from the CU football team. Getting in about 100 plays before the kids took the field, the Buffs got their first runs in under true August heat, with temperatures crawling into the low 90s under clear blue skies.

For his part, Coach MacIntyre was publicly pleased with the results, saying, "I liked their aggressiveness, and I thought they did some good things there. We're getting more physical and we're tackling there and that's something we work on every day."

P-Rich looked good to go. From: the BDC

The two biggest highlights from the scrimmage came on offense, where DD Goodson and Paul Richardson each took a pass to the house; Richardson's was a 64-yard strike from Sefo Liufau on a post route, while Goodson's was a 25-yard acrobatic grab from Jordan Gehrke.

Reading through the lines, however, inspite of the highlights from Goodson and Richardson, the defense had the best of it at the scrimmage. All-told, the defense only allowed four touchdowns in 100 plays, forced two turnovers, and repeatedly came up with big stops and tackles for loss.

The defense had the upper hand on Saturday. From: the BDC

The biggest note was, of course, the lack of injuries announced after the scrimmage. Knock-on-wood, the injury list has been blissfully light this fall, leaving the Buffs, mostly, at full strength headed into the final stretch of camp.

Football recruiting update -
Quietly, Coach MacIntyre and staff have continued to build the 2014 recruiting class. Since the start of August, three more kids have committed to the Black and Gold, all from defensive linemen positions, bringing the early total to 11 before a single down of football has been played in the MikeMac era.

The first of the August trio, who committed back on the 5th, is Eddy Lopez, a defensive tackle out of El Paso, TX. Comically, prior to his announcement, few had ever heard his name. As the Ralphie Report pointed out, "the only information to be found comes from a YouTube highlight video and a MaxPreps page with his name spelled wrong." How he ended up on the coaches radar, we'll never know, but he certainly has the size (listed 6-3, 289 on Rivals) to compete at this level.

Last week saw a pair of commitments in the form of Jase Franke and Sam Bennion. Franke, who chose CU over Arizona, is widely considered a 3-star defensive end, and has been tagged as playing with a 'high motor.' Bennion is an interesting prospect out of Logan, UT, but it'll be a few years before he ever sees the field, as he's planning on taking his Mormon mission in the near future.

Franke is one of the latest commits to BuffNation.

In addition to the three 2014 d-linemen, the Buffs also picked up a kicker for 2013. Diego Gonzalez, out of Monterrey, Mexico, becomes the latest summer addition to the active roster. Rated the #3 kicker available by Chris Sailer Kicking, and a 5-star prospect according to Kohl's, Gonzalez comes to CU as a result of an international search to find 'the best kicker in America.' As an international recruit, compliance was always going to be an issue, but CU stuck at it, and landed this gem from south of the border. He's got a monster leg, and looks to contribute immediately, either competing with Will Oliver for the starting duties, or taking care of kickoffs.

Welcome aboard, Eddy, Jase, Sam, and Diego!

Women roll in Italy -
So far, so good for the women's basketball team and their tour of Italy. Through two games - both of them wins - the ladies have outscored the competition 176-69, including a 96-22 rout of the Lazio All_Stars Sunday afternoon. Sure, the level of competition is seriously lacking, but a couple of breezy waltzes past the 'best' that Italy has to offer is better than the alternative.

Of course, the real focus of the trip was always going to be team bonding and sightseeing. To wit, they've been hitting all the tourist spots in Italy, and posting plenty of awesome pictures on instagram. Again, as much as the men seemed to enjoy Belgium and the Netherlands last year, the ladies got the far better travel destination.

Sorry Belgium, but Italy is just better. From: CUBuffs.com

You can keep up with the women and their tour of Italy by checking out their journal on CUBUffs.com.